 | Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Mahoney, Jon Polito, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh Director: Joel Coen Format: Box set PAL Released: 16 Sep 2002 RRP: Average Rating:  |
In summary, then; great.
1991's Barton Fink did come in from a bit of stick from the type of critics who are regularly confounded by David Lynch films, it does come across as a black comedy regarding Hollywood. The image that recurs & that the film ends on reminds me of Nathaneal West's The Day of the Locust- which has an image that literallly comes true at the end (as does Kubrick's The Shining). Coen-regular John Turturro is great as Fink, loosely based on writer Cliff Odets- who was seen to be sucked up & sold out by the Hollywood system, as say William Faulkner, F Scott Fitzgerald & Raymond Chandler (there's a reason why William Holden is face down in a swimming pool on Sunset Boulevard...). The supporting cast are great- from a hilarious turn from Frasier star John Mahoney, to an OTT John Goodman & a nervy Steve Buscemi (the Tim Roth role in the dire Four Rooms is modelled on this part). By the end of the film, we are in hell- though one that is screamingly absurd; nice to see a nod to this in the video of 'Karmacoma' by Massive Attack. The Barton Fink Experience gets *****.
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) was a high-budget production from Joel Silver (Lethal Weapon series) & famously flopped- which is a shame because it's a lot more charming that the savant choice of this era- the excerable Forrest Gump. The cityscape stylings nod back to works like Lang's Metropolis (1927) & Brazil (1984) & the script by the Coens & Sam Raimi (Spiderman) is as much a joy as their previous collaboration Crimewave (1985) was not. The film has a Preston Sturges feel, as does the later O Brother, Where Art Thou?, though the end sequence comes across as a deranged mix of Frank Capra & Kevin Smith's Dogma (1999). Tim Robbins is fine in the lead, his gazelle speech particularly charming & he is ably supported by the gorgeous Jennifer Jason Leigh. There are also nice supporting turns from Paul Newman, Bruce Campbell, John Mahoney & Charles Durning. Nice to see amusing moments like the invention of the hula-hoop, Leigh's character speaking like Rosalind Russell's in His Girl Friday (1940) & the catchphrase of alll catchphrases: "You Know- for Kids!". Perhaps a little confused but the "Go Eagles!" sequence with Robbins chirping & barking makes me give a cool *****.
The Big Lebowski (1998) was the follow-up to the award winning Fargo (1996) & disappointed many - look at the entry in William Goldman's Which Lie Did I Tell? for evidence. The problem is...I love alll the Coens films, so for me The Big Lebowski is a key work. Along with Raising Arizona & O Brother, it is the one I can come back to the most. The Coen's take an absurd approach to the kind of LA Raymond Chandler wrote about, though the film feels a bit like Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1972)- Bridges Lebowksi a man out of time (a hippy in Sadaam's era of the early 1990s- frequent refs to the Gulf War (1)).
There are so many hilarious elements to this film- the clue on the phone pad that Lebowksi reveals, the cameo from Turtorro as Jesus ("I'll f*** you in the ass next Saturday"), Goodman's frequent references to alll things Vietnam, Philip Seymour Hoffmann's butler, the German nihilists who were once a Kraftwerk style band, Julianne Moore's rich artist character or the scene with the car thief & the iron lung (don't ask...). I think The Big Lebowksi is hilarious, especiallly the dreams/halllucinations such as the 'Condition'-sequence. Plus there is a great soundtrack assembled by T. Bone Burnett, typified by the use of Dylan's great The Man in Me (from New Morning). Plus there are frequent jibes at The Eagles & Nazi's- hilarious, what can I say? *****
This triple pack is great value... Three Coen's classics to rank next to other films like The Man Who Wasn't There & Raising Arizona. A must purchase...
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